Overtime pay and maximum working hours in Peru
The maximum ordinary working day in Peru is 8 hours, or 48 hours a week. Overtime is voluntary and carries a minimum surcharge of 25% on the hourly rate for the first two hours and 35% from the third. Night work (10 p.m. to 6 a.m.) cannot be paid below the minimum wage plus 35%. The minimum wage is S/ 1,230 from 1 October 2026 (it was S/ 1,130 until 30 September).
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Ministry of Labour · El Peruano · Peruvian State portal (gob.pe)
Checked 30 Sept 2026Next review 15 Jan 2027
Article 25 of the Constitution, items 25.1, 25.6 and 25.19 of the inspection Regulation and the fine tables in DS 008-2020-TR were read in official texts.
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DS 015-2026-TR (El Peruano, 28 September 2026) raises the minimum wage to S/ 1,230 from 1 October 2026; the second step, to S/ 1,300, needs another decree that has not been published yet.
The maximum working day
The Constitution (article 25) and the consolidated Working Hours Act (DS 007-2002-TR, article 1) set the ordinary working day at eight hours a day or forty-eight a week as a maximum. The «or» matters: the act sets two limits, and anything beyond the daily or weekly limit is overtime and must be paid with the surcharge.
Overtime is voluntary
Article 9 of the consolidated text is plain: «El trabajo en sobretiempo es voluntario, tanto en su otorgamiento como en su prestación». Nobody can force you to stay or discipline you for leaving on time. It is your call. The act contains narrow exceptions we do not describe because we did not read that paragraph in the official text.
It is voluntary for the employer too: it is not obliged to offer overtime.
How much it pays
Article 10 sets minimum surcharges on the hourly value of your pay:
| Overtime hours | Minimum surcharge |
|---|---|
| First and second hour | 25% |
| Third hour onwards | 35% |
These are floors «a convenir»: a contract or collective agreement can set more, never less. The base is the hourly value of the pay you actually receive, not the minimum wage.
Method, without figures: divide your monthly pay by 30, then by the hours in your daily shift. That is your hourly rate. Multiply by 1.25 for the first two overtime hours each day and by 1.35 for the rest.
Night work: the detail almost everyone misreads
Article 8 does not say «35% on top of your salary». It says a night worker «no podrá percibir una remuneración semanal, quincenal o mensual inferior a la remuneración mínima mensual vigente a la fecha de pago con una sobretasa del treinta y cinco por ciento (35%) de ésta».
In other words: a floor, calculated on the minimum wage. If you already earn more than the minimum wage plus 35%, the rule adds nothing. If you earn less, your employer must lift you to that floor. Night hours, under the same act, run from 10:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m.
The minimum wage actually in force
DS 006-2024-TR set the Remuneración Mínima Vital at S/ 1,130 from 1 January 2025. DS 015-2026-TR, published in El Peruano on 28 September 2026, raises it to S/ 1,230 from 1 October 2026. From that date, S/ 1,230 is the legal minimum for a full working day and the base of the night-work floor: S/ 1,230 plus 35%.
The same decree announces a second step of S/ 70, to S/ 1,300, but does not set it: it says another decreto supremo will do so during the first half of 2027. Until that decree is published, the minimum wage is S/ 1,230.
What the employer risks
The Regulation of Ley 28806 classes as very serious:
- 25.6 — breaching the rules on working hours, schedule, overtime and meal breaks, which includes not paying overtime.
- 25.1 — not paying the minimum wage.
- 25.19 — not keeping an attendance register.
The fine comes from the DS 008-2020-TR table. Under the MYPE regime, if the employer is registered in REMYPE, the sanction is much lower (a microenterprise’s very-serious row runs from 0.23 to 0.68 UIT). The maximum working day and overtime pay, by contrast, do not change with the regime: they are the same for a microenterprise and for a corporation.
Foreign workers
Same rules. Working hours, overtime and the minimum wage do not distinguish by nationality or by type of foreign-worker contract.
Calculate it
The overtime calculator applies the 25% and 35% surcharge to your hours, and flags whether your pay is below the legal night-shift floor. Go to the overtime calculator.
Did an overtime dispute lead to a strike?
Many legal strikes in Peru originate from unpaid overtime claims or other working-hours violations. Check strikes in Peru: requirements for a legal strike if your coworkers are considering that route.
If the worker is a minor, the limits are different
The maximum working hours described here apply to adult workers. Adolescents have stricter hour limits and need special authorization. See child labor in Peru: minimum ages and required authorization.
How to file
- Work out your hourly rateMonthly pay divided by 30 days, divided by the hours in your daily shift. The 25% (first two overtime hours) and 35% (from the third) apply to that figure.
- Keep your own logStart and end time every day, in a notebook or on your phone, and save any message asking you to stay. If the company keeps no attendance register, yours will be the best evidence.
- Claim in writing from the employerAn email to HR with the dates and hours. If they pay, done. If not, you have proof you asked.
- File with SunafilFree and online. Unpaid overtime, hours above the maximum and a missing attendance register are all very serious infractions.
- Sue for the money in courtThe fine is not paid to you. Unpaid overtime is collected in a labour lawsuit, within the four-year limitation period from the end of the employment.
Want it drafted for you? Escrito listo — S/ 15 · available soon →
Possible changes ahead
None of this is law in force yet. What this page explains is what applies today; this is what could change it.
Rule still to be issued
Second step of the minimum wage rise (Decreto Supremo N.º 015-2026-TR, article 1.2)
- Where it stands
- DS 015-2026-TR (El Peruano, 28 September 2026) set the first step: S/ 1,230 from 1 October 2026. The second step has no decree yet: as of 30 September 2026 we found none in El Peruano.
- What it would change
- The minimum wage would rise another S/ 70, from S/ 1,230 to S/ 1,300. The night-work floor, which is the minimum wage plus 35%, would rise with it.
- How it would take effect
- Only through a new decreto supremo published in El Peruano, which has to set the date it applies from. DS 015-2026-TR does not set that date.
- When
- No date set. DS 015-2026-TR says that decree is to be issued during the first half of 2027.
«El segundo tramo del incremento es de S/ 70.00 (Setenta y 00/100 Soles), el cual se establece mediante Decreto Supremo a emitirse durante el primer semestre del año 2027.»What people fail to ask in time
You keep a fixed schedule but are paid on recibos por honorarios. Do these rules still reach you?
Find out before it matters →What most people believe — and what the law says
If my boss asks, I have to stay.
No. The statute says overtime is voluntary «tanto en su otorgamiento como en su prestación». You can refuse. The act has narrow exceptions we do not detail here because we did not read that paragraph.
Overtime is paid at the normal rate.
No. The first two hours carry a minimum 25% surcharge on the hourly rate; from the third hour, 35%. Those are floors: an agreement can improve them, never lower them.
The night surcharge is 35% on top of my salary.
The text says something else: a night worker cannot earn less than the minimum wage plus 35%. It is a floor calculated on the minimum wage, not a surcharge on your actual salary.
The minimum wage already went up to 1,300 soles.
Not yet. DS 015-2026-TR raises the minimum wage in two steps: to S/ 1,230 from 1 October 2026, and another S/ 70, to S/ 1,300, through a further decreto supremo to be issued in the first half of 2027.
Without an attendance register I can't prove my overtime.
The missing register is a very serious infraction by the employer, not your problem. Emails, messages, photos of the clock-in screen or witnesses can prove the hours.
Frequently asked questions
How exactly do I calculate what I'm owed for an overtime hour?
Divide your monthly pay by 30 days, then by the hours in your daily shift: that's your hourly rate. Multiply that rate by 1.25 for the first two overtime hours each day, and by 1.35 from the third hour onward. The calculation is based on your actual pay, not the minimum wage.
I work for a microenterprise registered in REMYPE. Does that change my overtime rights?
It doesn't change your rights, only the size of the fine your employer risks. Maximum working hours, overtime pay and the night-work surcharge are the same for a microenterprise as for a corporation. What does change is the Sunafil fine: for a REMYPE-registered microenterprise, the very-serious infraction runs from 0.23 to 0.68 UIT, well below the 2.63 to 52.53 UIT for a non-MYPE employer.
How long do I have to sue for unpaid overtime?
Four years from the end of the employment relationship, under the limitation period that applies to this kind of claim. After that period, you can no longer collect those hours through a lawsuit.
I'm paid on recibos por honorarios but I keep a fixed schedule. Do these working-hours and overtime rules apply to me?
This page doesn't cover that situation directly: keeping a fixed schedule while being paid on recibos por honorarios is a different situation that can amount to disguised employment, with its own rules. Check the guide on disguised employment in Peru before assuming these working-hours rules don't reach you.
What the fine is
| Conduct | Severity | Range | Authority |
|---|---|---|---|
| Breaching the rules on working hours, schedule, overtime and meal breaks, including not paying overtime (item 25.6) — non-MYPE employer, by workers affected DS 019-2006-TR, art. 25.6 and art. 48 (text of DS 008-2020-TR) REMYPE-registered microenterprise: 0.23 to 0.68 UIT. Small enterprise: 0.77 to 7.65 UIT. | muy grave | 2.63 – 52.53 UIT S/ 14,465.00 – S/ 288,915.00 $4,184 – $83,574 | Sunafil |
| Not paying the minimum wage (item 25.1) — non-MYPE employer DS 019-2006-TR, art. 25.1 and art. 48 (text of DS 008-2020-TR) | muy grave | 2.63 – 52.53 UIT S/ 14,465.00 – S/ 288,915.00 $4,184 – $83,574 | Sunafil |
| No attendance register (item 25.19) — non-MYPE employer DS 019-2006-TR, art. 25.19 and art. 48 (text of DS 008-2020-TR) | muy grave | 2.63 – 52.53 UIT S/ 14,465.00 – S/ 288,915.00 $4,184 – $83,574 | Sunafil |
Fines are set in UIT. When the UIT moves, every fine moves with it. UIT 2026 = S/ 5,500 (Decreto Supremo N.º 301-2025-EF). Reference conversion only. The debt is owed in soles.FX rate as of2026-10-12: US$ 1 = S/ 3.457.
The exact law
Decreto Supremo N.º 007-2002-TRArticles 1, 8, 9 and 10read
Consolidated Working Hours, Schedule and Overtime Act
«El trabajo en sobretiempo es voluntario, tanto en su otorgamiento como en su prestación.»
Decreto Supremo N.º 006-2024-TRArticle 1read
Minimum wage raised to S/ 1,130 from 1 January 2025
«la Remuneración Mínima Vital asciende a S/ 1,130.00 (un mil ciento treinta y 00/100 Soles). El incremento tiene eficacia a partir del 1 de enero de 2025.»
Decreto Supremo N.º 015-2026-TRArticle 1, item 1.2read
Minimum wage raised to S/ 1,230 from 1 October 2026
«El primer tramo del incremento es de S/ 100.00 (Cien y 00/100 Soles), con lo que la Remuneración Mínima Vital pasa a ascender a S/ 1,230.00 (Un Mil Doscientos Treinta y 00/100 Soles), a partir del 1 de octubre de 2026.»
Constitución Política del PerúArticle 25read
Ordinary working day of eight hours a day or forty-eight a week
Decreto Supremo N.º 019-2006-TRArticle 25, items 25.1, 25.6 and 25.19read
Regulation of the General Labour Inspection Act — very serious infractions
Decreto Supremo N.º 008-2020-TRArticle 48 of DS 019-2006-TR (substituted text)read
Sunafil fine tables
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What this page already lets you do
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